Re: Does this Sound like Bipolar Disorder?

> Hi! I'd like comments from anyone who's bipolar re. whether or not my husband's story sounds familiar.> > My husband was an angry, aggressive kid who used to pick fights as a release for his anger. He was so > violent that his mother turned him over to the State and he eventually wound up in a juvenile lock-up> facility. Even though he's a warm-hearted, funny, intelligent person, this behavior has been a major > obstacle in his life. Through studying and participating in martial arts for over twenty years, he > developed amazing self-control and found an acceptable physical release. However, with increasing> age and responsibilities he's no longer able to do what he loves. Due to the tension created by > trying to deal with recurring bouts of depression, anxiety and extreme anger, he suffered a mild > heart attack last year. He was put on Wellbutrin and Xanax which helped a great deal but the doc > prescribed the meds for the short-term (to help him quit smoking and deal with "temporary" stress).> While on the meds, he said he felt "normal" for the first time in his life. Now he's off the meds > and back to his old self. Given my husband's turbulent childhood and the fact that he's dyslexic > I suspected he probably had ADHD. BUT, his youngest son(who's behavior mirrors his dad's)was diagnosed> with bipolar disoder last summer. SO, perhaps my husband needs more than an RX from our GP. The problem> is that, after growing up being called a "nut-case" by his peers and having bad experiences with psych.> docs as a kid, he won't go for an evaluation. I'm hoping to get some feedback that I can use to help> convince him to change his mind. I understand that treatment is his decision but I feel that lack of> treatment is threatening his physical health. Thank you for any comment/thoughts you'd like to share!

Hi,

I'm bipolar and I am an adult with attention deficit disorder. When I am in my low periods of my bipolar cycles, I am very angry very much of time. Pissed off at everything. Also, since I've started taking Dexedrine for my ADD, an incredible amount of anger just disappeared. There are probrably many adults out there who are ADD ( I certainly never grew out of it). Because my brain is always on the run, I get frustrated and am very quick to anger when I am forced to slow it down to concentrate, even momentarily, on some dumb, boring fact that everyday life forces upon me. Your son would have inherited his genes from somewhere. For me, anger seems to be an integral part of both disorders. Why not just have him try some ADD medication to see if this could be the cause of his anger. Hope I can help.